Savannah Standard

Critical Race Theory will be taught by nine more teachers in Washington, according to an online pledge from the Zinn Education Project.

The pledge was signed by one teacher the week before. It now has 88 pledges from Washington teachers by the end of the week ending Aug. 28.

They’re one of the thousands of US teachers pledging to continue educating students about the controversial Critical Race Theory, which explains racism is embedded in US culture and politics.

Comments from new Washington teachers included “As an educator, I have always understood the importance of teaching the truth and that education itself is an act of social justice. As a mother, I want my child to be taught the truth.” and “my students histories and lives deserve to be taught and understood”.

Though the concept was first suggested in the late 70’s, it has recently exploded as a contentious issue between the American right and left in the last two years.

Many who signed the pledge are defying state bans on the teachings. Arizona, Idaho, Iowa, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas have passed legislation banning discussions about the US being inherently racist.

Other states, such as Montana and South Dakota, have denounced the teachings without passing specific legislation.

In an interview with The Washington Free Beacon, Ashley Varner of the Freedom Foundation accused the Zinn Education Project of providing “left-leaning propaganda to teachers.”

Teachers	Thoughts on Critical Race Theory
Amy Malone-Spicer	Our students deserve to learn what actually transpired to various minorities in this country.
Marlena Wikander	“no comment”
Callie Hyder	“no comment”
Kourtney Ginn	“no comment”
Stephen C.	“no comment”
John Cotman	I am signing in solidarity with my K-12 colleagues. Attacks on freedom of thought must not be taken lightly. All educators should have the same freedom that I enjoy to engage students to read original works and think for themselves.
Katherine Dudkiewicz	Students deserve to learn the truth
Kathryn Allen	“no comment”
Alysia Scofield	“no comment”
Amber Eby	“no comment”
William Leubsdorf	My students deserve to know the truth about US history. Teaching them lies is bad teaching and unpatriotic. Loving this country is not about forcing people to believe falsehoods. It is about building a just society that represents our best ideals, and giving students the tools to create that just society.
Anne-Marie Reidy	Children deserve the truth.
Nina Abelson	Not only do students need and deserve to know the negative history and, especially, present events in our country, lawmakers dictating what CAN and CANNOT be taught is a tilt away from a diplomatic nation.
Astrid Riecken	“no comment”
Jack Werstein	The facts must be known, in order for students to gain the ability to think and analyze freely, on their own.
Constance Thayer	My students deserve a more just world, which can only start by ensuring the truth is known.
Nubia Gerima	Our students deserve to know true history. It’s the only way the nation will progress racially.
Stacey Cohen	Teaching the truth about history should not be a luxury, and we will never be a racially healthy society without dealing with history honestly. I pledge to always teach my students the truth; they deserve nothing less.
Marcy Campos	It’s essential we educate ourselves around the US history and foreign policy we were not taught and reshape our understanding of this society. Only then can we begin to create a truly fair, socially just and equitable country.
Sammi Mahoney	my future students deserve to be taught history as it was, in the fullest sense, so they are not fed the lies so many of us had been. They deserve the truth of this country so they can be emboldened to change it how they see fit, with us guiding them along the way.
Alexa Arboleda	I care about sharing all stories, understanding all perspective, and not conflating objectivity with oppression or silence.
Sabre Goldman	I am signing to speak out against the pro-racist and heteronormative education laws being passed which will only further marginalize our underrepresented students and cultures. Teachers should never fear to teach the need for change and for liberation.
Silvana Oderisi	“no comment”
Esme Pierzchala	“no comment”
Thomas Guglielmo	"I think the past is all that makes the present coherent and ... the past will remain horrible as long as we refuse to assess it honestly." --James Baldwin, 1949
Nicole Braxton	We need to teach our youth the truth about our nation so that true healing and understanding of each culture is reached.
Makai Kellogg	Children deserve the truth.
Teresa Price	It is very important to teach the truth to the adults and the children
Amy Young	I believe that for our democracy to survive we need to give our young people the full history of our country. Only by teaching the difficult as well as the proud history of this country can we move forward and grow as a united republic. Our children deserve to explore any moment in our history through multiple lenses from this country' founding to the present day.
Kathleen Pyne	In order to heal from the violence of racism and establish greater unity, we must be able to see and teach truth.
Maurice Tome	“no comment”
Jennifer Lowe	I am an educator who is white and understands how black and brown people have been denied, disenfranchised, tortured, murdered and so many more atrocities at the hands of white people, law enforcement, etc. I will always tell students the truth about that, while highlighting the amazing accomplishments of men and women of color, despite all the hardship they faced. These atrocities and accomplishments have been overlooked from most history books and school materials.
Krista Howell	Students deserve to learn the truth and how to ensure that they have the skills to combat the racism, sexism, bias and white supremacy they will inevitably face.
Fallon Keplinger	Students deserve to know the truth.
Liora Valero	The truth is vital to liberating all people!
Alex Guyton	It is essential that children learn the truth about our history so that they can learn from the mistakes or others and make better choices for their future.
Athena Kopsidas	Every child should have the opportunity to learn how their own ancestors contributed to the creation of the United States. This is an opportunity many generations have been deprived of in this country. Thank you.
Christopher Dunne	the truth matters, and I want to offer a more honest and analytical education than I received at the K-12 level.
Jennifer Abercrombie	Our country and society cannot improve in the future if today's students do not learn its full and accurate history.
Topher Kandik	Our history is our history. No matter what anyone says you can't change history.
Ebony Marshman	“no comment”
Jenelle Whittaker	“no comment”
Carlton Ackerman	I know from first-hand sources that what is being said on this issue is true. Much more than this needs to be done. We are reverting into a new Dark Age.
Elise Kohan	I believe in teaching truth.
Ariel Alford	The myth-making that has stitched this colonial experiment together needs to be unraveled. The lies have to stop with us. As teachers we must choose on which side we stand - WITH the people or AGAINST the people. I sign this for my students, my ancestors, my descendants, and all those who continue to suffer at the hands of this empire.
Navonda Marshall	It matters
Raphael Bonhomme	How can we create a country that has hidden facts and stories of so many lives? How can we stand for democracy when everyone’s story is not told equally or from their perspective? Does the moral compass not align with logic, or does self-interest over power a blatant caste system?
Alexis Feliciano	“no comment”
Tom Faleti	To be effective and lasting, all institutions, education, and morality must be based on the truth. As a nation, we must fearlessly face our greatest achievements and our deepest flaws, knowing that they call us to even greater achievements. Jesus said, "the truth will make you free." Hiding from the truth leads to shackled minds and impoverished lives. Only a clear-eyed view of the truth allows us to be all we are meant to be. That means we need to stop throwing labels around and fearlessly explore our actual history, with all its achievements and flaws. I don't know why anyone would want to hide any part of our past, knowing that understanding our past is the first step toward creating a better future.
Gail Lelyveld	“no comment”
Ashley Chu	all children deserve to learn honest history, along with the critical thinking skills to understand and analyze what they are learning. It's the only way we can progress into a better future.
Cara Fulton	Only with the truth can we truly be free.
Bill Stevens	As an American history teacher, I teach the history of the people in America. This includes the voices and stories of ALL people, not just the ones deemed worthy by others.
Jessica Bishop	I refuse to lie to students.
Aja Simpson Zulfiqar	The truth matters and will not be silenced
Traci Dennis	“no comment”
Alberto Otero	Our children are already receiving less formalized social studies, civics and history instruction. Our curriculum in schools and communities needs to be as accurate, engaging, diverse and equitable as possible. The children deserve and need this change.
Barrie Moorman	I do not believe we can build a better future until we are honest about our past. Acknowledging past wrongs is necessary if we ever hope to heal.
John Borkowski	Censorship the truth is the rebirth of Jim Crow.
Jessica Rucker	the truth will ALWAYS set us FREE!
Nicole Clark	We teach history, so that we don't make the same mistakes made in the past, not to support the narrative that a nation has made no mistakes.
Gail Lelyveld	The truth shall ma you free.
James Loewen	I have experienced first hand the damage to kids' thinking when US history is taught to them solely or primarily from our nationalist HS textbooks.
Nancy Mirabal	Students deserve to know and learn the truth of our shared history
Karen Lee	Students deserve to understand what is happening in our country today and that is impossible to do without an honest look at our history.
Naina Wadhwa	“no comment”
Annalise Fox	“no comment”
Jv Bippus	I strongly believe this..
Matt Church	Allowing our students to thrive means being honest about the roles that racism, sexism, islamophobia, colonialism, neocolonialism, homophobia and other structures of power that oppress people interact in our communities. To move forward we must receive adequate and honest history and unlearn the mis-education of the last 3 centuries.
Alethea Etinoff	“no comment”
Jill Weiler	I believe the only way to disrupt our current transmission of injustices through schooling in the US is through a transformative pedagogy that teaches students the truth about this country's history--the resistance as well as the oppression and violence--and equips students' to empower themselves to create a world that exemplifies the values of a true democracy.
Rita Dogbo	“no comment”
Patricia Bradford	“A people who do not know their history are doomed to repeat the mistakes of their pasts.”
Brenna Cowardin	“no comment”
Morgan Hall	my students and my kids aren't too young - they can be antiracists and we need them to be!
Johari Malik	“no comment”
Jon Berg	“no comment”
Patricia Kotrady	“no comment”
Samuel Kingsbury	I do not believe any teacher should be forced to lie in the classroom because all students deserve the truth.
Ruth Ticktin	“no comment”
Allie Arnold	Our kids need to be prepared to live and act fully in this world. Teaching this truth begins to repair the centuries of harm and give our kids a way to heal instead of re-traumatizing them and leading to greater harm.
Danielle Imhoff	my students histories and lives deserve to be taught and understood
Denise Miles	As an educator, I have always understood the importance of teaching the truth and that education itself is an act of social justice. As a mother, I want my child to be taught the truth.
Christopher Ladd	In the words of C. S. Lewis:"The task of the modern educator is not to cut down jungles but to irrigate forests. By starving the sensibility of our pupils we only make them easier prey to the propagandist when he comes."
Erin Chapman	I am a professor of African American history. This legislation would render my whole profession illegal. It is unconscionable for right-wing legislators and activists to deceive the public, to purposefully misinform their constituents and allies, and to suppress historical knowledge. These right-wing efforts are in service of white supremacy and will not be tolerated.
Rebecca Parr	I won't lie to my students or my child about our real history because that would condemn them to repeat it. Enough is enough!
Justin Haas	“no comment”
George Musgrove	“no comment”